My Religion: Reel or Real?: A Post-Modern Catholic’S Assessment on His Faithjourney

MY RELIGION:

REEL OR REAL?

A Post-modern Catholic’s Assessment on his Faithjourney

REV. BENJAMIN A. VIMA

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© Copyright 2013 REV. BENJAMIN A. VIMA.

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isbn: 978-1-4907-1364-9 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4907-1366-3 (hc)

isbn: 978-1-4907-1365-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013916178

Trafford rev. 09/24/2013

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction:    The Realreligion

Chapter-1:    Faith according to my Realreligion

Chapter-2:    God of the Realreligion

Chapter-3:    Jesus Christ in my Realreligion

Chapter-4:    Holy Spirit in my Realreligion

Chapter-5:    Church according to my Realreligion

Chapter-6:    Sources of Revelation in my Realreligion

Chapter-7:    Prayer in my Realreligion

Chapter-8:    Sacramental Performances in my Realreligion

Chapter-9:    Eucharistic Rituals in my Realreligion

Chapter-10:    Sacrament of Reconciliation in my Realreligion

Chapter-11:    Charities according to my Realreligion

Chapter-12:    ‘Giving Tithes’ according to my Realreligion

Chapter-13:    Leadership and Authority in my Realreligion

Chapter-14:    Money management in Realreligion

Chapter-15:    Sex, Marriage and Family in my Realreligion

Chapter-16:    Suffering according to Realreligion

Chapter-17:    Death according to my Realreligion

Books and Authors referred

Dedication

I sincerely and with overwhelming appreciation I dedicate this book to three persons who have been rolemodels to me in practicing authentically the Realreligion in this post-modern world:

36822.png    Saint Pope John Paul II who has been a model for People-oriented Leadership;

36828.png    Pope Benedict XVI, a pattern for Status-ripped Leadership;

36915.png    Pope Francis, an example for Humble and Simple Leadership.

Introduction:

The Realreligion

A t the onset I must avow that in no way I try to compare and contrast religions or faiths abounding around the globe. I don’t have such caliber and experience in the study of all religions and sects. While I am good at a few, I know very nominally little of all the others. My primary focus here is on the attitudes and behaviors of two groups of people affiliated to my religion, specifically Catholic Christianity. In this too, I am only assessing my personal holdings and performances as a Catholic Christian religious person, all in the light of Scriptures, Traditions and Signs of the Time.

These days people are fed up seeing only the fiction-TV. Rather they prefer and choose what is called ‘the reality-TV.’ This is true with our approach to religion. Even though our lips profess the faith of resurrection, our hearts beat for reality religion. Some years back I happened to read an article in the magazine ‘America: The National Catholic Review’, written by Cardinal Avery Dulles S.J. Its title was Vatican II: The Myth and the Reality. It inspired me to coin the title for this book "My Religion: Reel or Real."

At every age, the cradle-religion I belong to has been probing into her managing and conserving of the Mysterious Treasures entrusted to her. In particular the enlightenment, offered by Vatican Council II, helped me judging my own handling of Catholic Christian Faith. Describing the intention of the gathering of the Sacred Synod as Vatican council II as ‘being to teaching of previous councils, to unfold now more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission, the Church fathers underlined the necessity of it: The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ. (LG para-1) The words ‘Present-day conditions’ certainly refer to the ‘Signs of the Times’, which Blessed Pope John XXII spoke about in his inaugural address. Simultaneously Council fathers insisted that their intention for this august gathering was to scrutinize and interpret the same ‘Signs of the Times’ in the ‘light of the Gospel of Jesus.’ (GS Para 4) I observe Vatican Council has been one such effort in my time. I was enlightened by Vat II’s deliberations which now assist me in the effort of probing into my personal religious adherence, and practice. Personally I don’t want to fall short of my faith and trust in Realreligion, as my friends of reelreligion, who consider renewal or renovation of one’s religious life as deviating or totally drifting away from what our Mother-Religion entrusted to us. It would be a grave mistake and I don’t buy it.

What is the meaning of ‘Religion’?

Before entering into a discussion on a debatable topic like ‘My Religion: Reel or Real?’ I would like to clarify certain terms I use in this book. First the term ‘religion’: From its Latin root meaning ‘rebinding’ (Re-ligare) usually in conservative circle it denotes the re-relationship of humans to God. In spiritual sense it is a pedestal for God and humans holding a re-sitting discussion and communication in order to renew their agreement or covenant made and violated in the past. Also in a socio-political sense it is a forum where like-minded people come together again and again to re-bind together, to re-new their fellowship and re-strengthen their bond. Generally in modern communication languages ‘religion’ is used to mean people’s beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life. It refers to an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine. It also means a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by. It indicates to an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by.

From all these divergent definitions I can derive at the core meaning of religion: It is a human endeavor that starts from the spiritual realm or dimension of a person being nourished, fed, and strengthened by one’s sensual, emotional and physical and intellectual abilities of listening, seeing, interacting and learning. It comes out vehemently and immediately through the same way it entered, namely one’s physical, emotional, sensual, intellectual rituals and practices. In all this process one core and center that stays eternal is the human spiritual realm. This is indeed more personal and private than social or public. In any action or reaction or proaction of humans there is this core realm that acts as source, origin, basis, center and destination. Though all other human acts that are performed during religion’s in-and-out process are unequivocally needed for religion’s survival in individual’s life, they are in no way to be esteemed as essential to the fact of religion. What is going on inside the spiritual realm of the individual is the most essential to form a person’s religion.

Spiritual realm in me is nothing but my true self. The basic self within me over the years has been formed, groomed, shaped, molded and caricatured into what I call ‘my personality’ contrived with its character, characteristics, qualities, abilities and dreams. Once I take hold of that inner self, I work on it and work with it, first and foremost for my best survival, then for my relationship, my life’s basic necessities, my growth and my fulfillment. There is no sense of construing any altruistic motivation to human deeds. All the actions, reactions or proactions that are generated from an individual are only out of selfism in the right meaning. All arise from the spiritual source hidden in depth of every human being.

Religion essentially personal but formally social

With my personal study on the existence of different religions, I can boldly say, even though religions seem like community-oriented in their essence, there exist in this world as many religions as there are individual humans existing here on earth. Religion is basically personal and individualistic but formally social. I can offer innumerable proofs for such observation. For example: If I ask my parishioners about their religious affiliation surely each one would with no hesitation say ‘I am Catholic.’ However if I question them about their individual or personal likings and dislikes each one would differ from each other in their answers: I like all that I was taught about my beliefs except papacy. I follow everything my religion says except on birth control. I sincerely believe that God exists but I hesitate to put my belief in Jesus as God. I like Sunday Services but I attend them only if they are held at my convenient time. Undoubtedly I need God to forgive my sins but not through some men. I regularly offer my tithe to Church only if this priest of my skin, race, color and caste is my pastor. Such above-quoted statements of my parishioners are only a few out of millions of proofs to show that religions exist as many as the existing individuals. There is nothing wrong in making choices of beliefs and dogmas as long as freedom hails on high. My emphasis is about the fact of religion: Religion is basically personal but formally communal.

The existence of multifarious religions

From the above-mentioned central concept of ‘religion’ I can understand the multifarious attitudes, approaches and affiliations human beings hold on religion. Let me illustrate it in this way: Recent age clearly shows the grand exodus of Christians moving from their original churches or mainline denominations to the so-called non-denominational or inter-denominational churches manufactured and promoted by skilled salespersons of religion. They call themselves ‘Evangelists’ or ‘self-designated’ prophets of God. People endorse such efforts and flock in for services and conventions. What is the reason behind all this behavior of baptized Christians? Some criticize them and label them as ‘quitters’ not able to withstand the human problems existing in each one’s church environment.

But if I relate this sort of modern behavior of the original Christians to the core meaning of religion I can figure out the true cause of this exodus. Every individual human being holds a religion of his/her own according to the spiritual impulses coming out of one’s inner spiritual realm. He /she has got already certain clue or concept of religion for his/her survival and success. When that clue is not found in what he/she had been thrusted into in his/her early childhood he/she jumps out to make peace with one’s own spiritual self. If any situation in that matter comes to him/her where he/she would lose his/her spiritual balance or peace surely he/she would not tolerate it. This is historical truthful fact.

That insight offers us a valid answer to why we have so many religions in the world. Either they are the inspirations plumbed out of human spiritual realm or consolidation of different spiritual experiences of different people at various times. Because such individualistic and personal origin, in every world religion there are so many sects and branches: Among the Christians are Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Protestants etc. Sunnis and Shias belong to two different major branches of Islam apart from Sufis and other distinct groups. Two major divisions of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinduism is split into hundreds of sects and beliefs. The differences in hundred thousands of religions and sects are based on distinctive cultures, nationalities, social environments, natural climates and so on.

Even though people state that they belong to a religion that is already framed and organized, in actual situation every one of us framed of our own religion setup and follow it. In my childhood and even in my adolescent life I never thought this way. Later when I took priestly life, not just as a profession, but as a life of service and moving from one community to another as pastor I witnessed this truth hundred percent sure in my adult parishioners. They need not be only of the well-sophisticated group or educated elite but also of the uneducated, poor and tribal groups. Even within my priests’ circle, bishops and cardinals, theologians and other experts and authors in the Church every one of them possesses a certain way of dealing with their religious affiliations and that proves to me each one holds on to one’s own religion. This is why I boldly assert I hold on to my own religion in the midst of many religions.

The use of terms: Reel and Real

There are many ways of differentiating religions according to each one’s upholding, history, culture, and results. In this book I prefer to underline two most prevalent major divisions in practicing religions: Either they are reel or real. The term real, as all of us know, is an adjective pointing out a thing, a person or any matter dealt, used and applied is actual, factual, genuine, authentic, original, sincere, truthful, unfeigned and so on. Commonly we consider the opposite of ‘real’ is false, dishonest, artificial, fictional, and moot and so on. In this book I substitute to all those opposites of ‘real’ by the word ‘reel’ for the right reason: The term ‘reel’ is used in dictionaries both as noun and verb. As a noun ‘reel’ means a revolving wheel-shaped device, around which something such as thread, film, or wire, can be wound for storage. For example, storing device used as a spool, where movie films were wound up in earlier days before digital age; in fishing it means a winding device attached to a fishing rod that holds the fishing line and enables it to be cast and wound back. As a verb, ‘to reel’ is to move in a sudden and uncontrolled fashion, especially backward as if struck by a blow; to move or whirl around in circles; to move unsteadily, staggering or swaying from side to side; to feel giddy or shocked and confused; in other words, to give way or fall back; sway, waver, or stagger as from being struck; to lurch or stagger about, as from drunkenness or dizziness; and to go around and around.

Related to dealing with religion, the word ‘reel’, in the light of its root meaning, refers to a religion which is simply a bundle of rituals and activities that are performed routinely, with no commitment to the centrality and basis of religion; it also points out a religion which is practiced unsteadily, in confusion, staggering and swaying from side to side being tossed around in flux; sometimes it also denotes to a religion which is practiced as if in drunkenness and dizziness. Added to all these, I use this term as handled by younger generation of my native place in India. When their elders-parents, principals, professors and even their peers offer some healthy but long and tedious advice, they show their aversion or dislike by using the term ‘reel’ with the gesture of wheeling. This means, according to the youngsters, what they are told is either a lie or folly. There is one more very important factor regarding the term ‘reel’ as used in non-digital movie circles. If there was a 30-minute movie picture rolled in a movie wheeler (reel) there are almost 43200 still images on a strip of plastic which when run through a projector and shown on a screen created the illusion of moving plus speaking images. This brings out the fictional and unreal and imaginative characteristics of a movie experience. Applying this factor to a religion, we discover so many religion-practioners live and move and wheel around in their lives only enjoying certain kind of fictional, unreal and very subjective experience of their religions.

The Realreligion Vs Reelreligion

A preacher writes in one of his sermons that ‘religion is a human tool made of faith, worship and charity in order to relate or rebind oneself to a Supreme Being. It becomes real, true and genuine if it is observed with truthful spirit. And this is highlighted by Christ in his teachings.’ I find he is correct when I browse the Gospels in the Bible. As much as I know with the help of Scriptures, any Realreligion is always concerned with: rereading; rewriting; revisiting; reliving; renewing; reviving and reforming itself in every moment and movement of its lifespan. But the Reelreligion is commonly seen as a religion of superstition; religion of fear; religion of ignorance; religion of pride; religion of convenience; and a religion of easy-go and easy-come.

I ascertain that a religion becomes reel or real according to its origin and in its day-today practices with clear understanding of its genuine endresults. Its origin may be originated from tribal fear, imaginative myths and dreams of humanity. It may be based on ‘they said’, ‘it is said’, ‘faith of my fathers and mothers’ or on the absence of proper rationality and the active presence of vibrating emotionality, or on the fear of being shattered by natural calamities, fear of sickness, or on the inability to rise up and walk in times of troubles and crises, and above all fear of death, of being annihilated, of becoming dust unto dust and of turning out to be nothing after a glorious period of living and achieving so many things in life. If the above-said were solely the reasons and sources for a religion then we can label it unquestionably a reel religion. On the contrary if it is generated out of true and genuine experiences of a Supreme Being, beyond all that exist in the universe and if that Being holds certain and confirmed and provable connection with the human person or persons then we can name it a real religion.

The second qualification to make a religion reel or real is derived from how that religion is practiced at present. Again it can contain practices that are superstitious, impractical, pharisaical, made of human imaginative, creative, convenient; it can be filled with unjust, undemocratic, doubtful, scrupulous, meticulous and authoritative applications of the ideals of religion and above all, endorsing pluralistic interpretations on the truths it holds and binding every member under burdens of fear and anxiety. Such religion is truly a reel religion. In contrast, real religion’s qualifications are: its ultimate goal is possessing fuller life or qualitylife already, but not yet; performing its rituals in spirit and in truth; it is grasped and held both by rationality and faith; expounded in myths and facts; practicing a morality based on humanistic freedom and revelatory experience; and total concern for present world in love and justice.

Realreligion is one practiced in Spirit and Truth

Once, Master Jesus was sharing with a Samaritan woman one of his dreams about his followers and their religious performances. He said: The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth. (Jn. 4: 23-24) Anything I perform in the name of my Realreligion, according to my Master, must be done only in Spirit and truth. It can be a spiritual exercise, a sacramental act, a ritual practice or a good work for others. All these must be acted out in Spirit and truth. This means, first of all we should be very clear about the Triune God who is Supreme Spiritual Being. We deal with things pertaining to spiritual realm. Therefore the Spirit of the Lord must individually inspire us to do certain things in the name of God and for the name of God. We must be ready to listen to His promptings and also try to discern its credibility and genuiness; because we should remember we have our own human spirit which has been already tarnished by sin and which possesses its own trickery and deceptiveness.

This is why I love to qualify my Realreligion as ‘human spiritual life-management in-situations. What I mean by this is that religion is not just a ‘social institution’ as any secular systems but also mainly a personal spiritual lifemanagement strategy ‘in-situations.’ To me religion is simply an environment to put into practice the twofold command or will of God for humans: Love your Lord God with your whole heart, whole mind, whole soul, whole body and whole strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Religion is a situation conducive to fulfill such will of God. By nature human person is inclined to one’s own self. It is very difficult to go out of oneself, to withdraw from Ego and to love a Being who is beyond all beings, a Life beyond all lives and to love others as oneself. Religion offers an environment to perform certain exercises, practices, rituals and duties to enhance the observance of those commands of God. Religion, therefore, is not an institution but it is a situation. All institutions in the name of religions are simply human systems, man-made strategies to make the religion as situation-in. That is why they are called ‘in-situations’ or ‘institutions’. The true religion is the heart pulse of every human being. The seat of religion is the human heart. That is why the Lord offered the twofold command of love, which is closely related to the heart. When human beings begin to analyze, reflect, think, reason out those heartbeats of religion, they turn to be institutions. Until the human mind does not intervene into the hearts’ endeavors regarding God, the religion of humans is plain, simple and genuine. Once the mind starts its ‘ancilla-business’—its handmaid job of analyzing and reasoning out—then all the complexities of religions come to exist.

This sort of my approach to religion may be labeled as humanistic, secular, new age, revolutionary or natural and so on. I personally do not accept any such label to my approach. I simply call it for my own convenience ‘the heart-religion.’ Every human being is born with an environment of religion, because everyone has got a heart, which is the seat of religion. It craves for love in its infinity. It craves for life in its eternity. It longs for fulfillment in its totality. Also everyone is born in an in-situation of religion that is in a system of exercises of religion. If that in-situation does not help the human person to go deeper to the inner religion of the heart, then such an institution must be deserted and the human person should go in search of another ‘in-situations’.

Jesus too declared and foretold that his followers would worship God in Truth. He meant that we too must be consecrated to the truth which is absolute as it is found both in Scriptures and Tradition. Since it is crucial but hard to be always attuned to truth, Jesus made a special prayer for this consecration of ours in the truth at his Last Supper: Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. (Jn. 17: 17-19) Jesus Christ who identified himself as ‘the Truth’, and told Pilate that he was born and came to this world in order to testify to the truth. Now, it is good to know what he meant by ‘truth’. ‘What is the ‘truth’? This was the question asked by Pilate then might be in a sarcastic way or with some suspicion and doubt; but today the same question surely arises in the hearts of every person who desires to follow Jesus. What does the Lord Jesus mean by ‘truth’? By analyzing the entire Scriptures, especially the NT Books, I can sum up the meaning of truth under three important factors:

The first dimension of the truth is that every human being is a sinner, offending God and his goodness, disobeying his commandments and because of their sins they undergo so many maladies, pains, sufferings and lead unwanted and unpleasant and unfair lives. Another part of the truth is that love and mercy of God presented itself in the form of the Cross and death of Jesus. The Death of Jesus Christ is the performance in history of the very Mind of God. There is no room for looking on Jesus Christ as a martyr; His death was not something that happened to Him which might have been prevented: His death was the very reason why He came. Never esteem of forgiveness and never base it on the fact that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. It is untrue to Jesus Christ’s revelation of God; it makes the Cross unnecessary. If God does forgive sin, it is because of the Death of Christ. God could forgive men in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted to be Savior because of His death. And thirdly all who hold Jesus as their Savior in that way turns out to be his citizens and he becomes the Lord and King to them. This means even though I walk through the dusty and muddy road of earthly life, because of Jesus’ death I am cleansed from my sins; if I die the same death as his, namely denying, detaching and even losing my worldly and earthly pleasures and possessions, I am chosen to be his soldier, bodyguard, courtier and even his ambassador in my own territory. One thing is certain. The more I am consecrated in Truth the clearer I can listen to Jesus. That is what he prophesied: "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

There is one more meaning to the saying of Jesus: ‘in Spirit and truth.’ Members who belong to Jesus’ Kingdom in this world are very human who constitute both soul and body; spiritual and physical; earthly and heavenly. This dichotomy of human existence is the reality. Make-up of two elements is the truthful fact of humanness. So in our dealing with humans if we choose the one element and ignore the other, we are untruthful. Jesus emphasizes this fact in performing our religious observances. In particular in the worship we offer to God this soul-and-body factor must be attended to. Hence the necessity of Rituals, which include involvement of all human senses, all human kinetic communications, and all aesthetic and artistic creativities! Humans, unquestionably, can worship God through meditation and recollection; they can also go so far as encountering mystic intimacy in Spirit; however as God commanded us, we have to love our God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength and with all our being. He demanded from us a total and wholistic worship. Besides, Jesus Christ encouraged us to be together in prayer and worship as a family. It is there, he told us, he would be present and he would grand whatever we request him. The Church takes this wish of Jesus very seriously and makes us gather together as one Body, one Community of disciples in a liturgical environment during which we sing, dance, kneel and stand, raise and hold our hands together. We, the members who follow Realreligion, make sure that we don’t participate in any liturgical services like immovable stone or dead cadaver but take strenuous efforts to involve both our soul and body in living, rejoicing and communing with God and our neighbors. It is in this bodily and emotional worship the role of rituals is so essential. And it is thus we fulfill our Master’s demand of worshipping wholeheartedly in Spirit and in truth.

Realreligion is a sort of ‘Mountaineering University’

In the light of Scriptures and Tradition I am told to esteem my life’s ultimate goal is to reach God the Most Holy and enjoy eternal joy and peace in His Presence. I am also instructed to consider this Holy Residence of God is like the Mountain. Invariably in all religions, especially in Judeo-Christianity, mountains are the symbols of mighty God’s dwelling place. Prophet Isaiah records the prerequisites for those who dream of dwelling on the high peak of God’s Mountain as: Walking righteously; speaking honestly; spurning what is gained by oppression; brushing their hands free of contact with a bribe; stopping their ears lest they hear of bloodshed; and closing their eyes lest they look on evil. (Ref. Is. 33: 15-16) This is why the Psalmist repeats in his songs inviting us to climb up the Mountain of the Lord. He indicates who are capable of reaching the Lord’s Mountain and dwell there for eternity: Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart; who does not slander with his tongue, does no harm to a friend, never defames a neighbor; who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath despite the cost; who lends no money at interest and who accepts no bribe against the innocent. (Ps. 15: 2-5) The Psalmist again sings in Psalm 24 first questioning: Who may go up the mountain of the LORD? Who can stand in his holy place? and then answering: The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things, who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.

In the light of Jesus Christ I understand that a religion is a Way for reaching the Heights of God’s Mountain and all that I am asked to do and perform as religious deeds are learning, practicing, and taking strenuous efforts to be qualified for attaining my ultimate goal. Though the Psalmist as Isaiah don’t use the word religion James in his Letter splendidly exposes the true identity of a religion which is nothing but attempting to covet those prerequisites to reach and dwell in God’s Heights. He sums up what the Psalmist and the Prophet wrote on this matter: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (Jas. 1: 27)

Religion, therefore, is a God & man-made ‘Mountaineering University’ to equip and train myself for continued act of climbing the Mountain of the Lord in this world. It is where I learn and understand what it takes to succeed in the Holy Mountain, pulling together many strands of knowledge and skills; to plan and execute mountaineering expedition, for which my Realreligion prepares me offering lots of helps on many different levels according to my age, gender, culture, and so on. As a matter of mountaineering, anyone who intends to climb any mountain needs to possess the most obvious set of mountaineering skills of technical ability and knowledge of how to climb and how to manage the inherent risks involved. For example, if I plan to climb an earthly mountain like Himalayas, I need to know at least the rudimentary matters like how to set a belay, how to rope up to cross a snow covered glaciers, how to move in steep terrain. The same thing is absolutely true in climbing the Holy Mountain of God. My Realreligion does offer intense, stable, truthful, total, wholistic, and effective assistance in my personal endeavor of climbing the Mountain of my Supreme God.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and see the face of God? (Ps. 42) The last sentence in the verse is paraphrased in one of the daily Psalter prayers’ antiphon as: When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God?

Reelreligion of Graveyard

While my Realreligion is full of life and growing, reelreligion looks to me as a religion dead. Whenever I come into a small or big town I am surprised to see a graveyard well-furnished and maintained at the entrance of the town. That scene reminds me of one more graveyard inside the town which many are not aware of. It is called cemetery of the living in contrast and in parallel to the cemetery of the dead. I am not referring only to ghost towns but also many homes is housed by humans who are leading life of isolation, never care of what is going on in neighbor’s home or in the community. These self-centered people are in one way dead humans walking. These people religion is literally a reel religion in which there is no life and steam to move on giving life to others. A man passed a funeral parlor. There in the window stood a bold sign that said: ‘Why walk around half dead when we can bury you for fifty dollars’. This is how many move around in their lives. In this kind of reel-religion its members feel and live half dead.

In my short tenure of earthly life I sense clearly that a real religion esteems itself not as an end but only as means to an End. A real religion if it is genuinely true must not be esteemed and practiced as an end in itself. It is a big mistake of many humans who are fully satisfied with certain religious practices and rituals and end with it; their religion turns out to be merely an environment for temporary solace. In contrast to this thought a real religion is to be handled only as a way, a channel, or a strategy to covet an eternal goal of human aspiration to become fully part of the Divine. This is why in the days of Apostles after the risen Lord ascended to heaven the whole bundle and package of all the rituals and practices-ethical and spiritual, was called ‘the Way.’

Reelreligion is practiced in blindness

Many humans, among both irreligious and religious as well, are not ready to accept that they are blind. It’s called the blindness of the blindness. If you are truly sleeping, I can wake you up. But if you act as if you are sleeping, I can’t do anything. If you accept that you are blind, then there is the possibility of curing. But if you are blind to your own blindness, then there can be no healing. This is why Jesus pronounced the judgment on the Pharisees. We hear him say, ‘If you were blind, there would be no sin in that. But you say that you see, and that is why your sin remains.’ The man born blind accepted his weakness, his sickness and his need of healing. Jesus then could heal him. Only those who feel they are sick need Doctor. These persons can never reach out to Jesus for healing by his anointing.

There was a married man in his middle age experienced a crisis in his prayer life. He was very intensively praying to God for nearly 6 months for a gift from Him. No response came from the Upstairs. So very much frustrated he sought some counseling from many priests, pastors and evangelists. They advised him, as much as they could, referring to all kinds of Scriptural quotations. The man tried again with full trust and confidence as he was directed. It did not help. He found God very silent and distant. Finally he approached a priest who was famous in his straightforward and down to earth counseling. The priest, as soon as he listened to the man’s complaint about God’s indifference toward his prayer, asked him: ‘My dear man, would you please tell me what sort of gift you asked from the Lord? the man replied: I asked him to give me one more wife." This is how we are blind or blindfolded in many things related to God and to others. It’s called our ‘inner blindness.’

Many humans are spiritually blind to know, to love and to serve their God as Creator and Redeemer. They are blind in their sinfulness to be conscious of God’s active presence in and around their lives. Secondly they are blind to see outside of them what their inner hearts tell them. That is about the human relationships that surround as from their birth as parents, brother, sisters, relatives and friends. Thirdly they too are blind to see those human beings outside of their territory or campus who are handicapped, physically, mentally and socially challenged and neglected by the society. They are prone to be complacent within their four walls and say ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ Thus they are grown spiritually empty, judgmental, envious, suspicious, afraid, autonomous, depressed, lonely, disconnected, and out of energy. As Scriptures say, they are blind to see the world, life and the whole universe as God sees. They are fully satisfied with their fake judgment based on outward appearances while God sees through the hearts.

In this modern world there are two groups of spiritually blind people: While on one side of the world where poverty and ignorance dominate people grope in darkness, being blind in superstitious practices and even turn out to be religious terrorists, on the other side we notice so many being blind of the presence of God and the need of connections with him in faith, hope and love. Blindness of not